


Of Ectothermy And Guitars

by OzzyOsgood



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Human, Doctor Will, Fluff, Herpetologist Nico, M/M, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-21
Updated: 2018-01-21
Packaged: 2019-03-07 21:02:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,571
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13443324
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OzzyOsgood/pseuds/OzzyOsgood
Summary: Will comes into an antiquarian with an old herpetology book. Nico is a herpetologist that happens to enjoy old books. Two plus two voilà love happens.(I suck at summaries, but the story is good. Or at least, it's trying to be.)





	Of Ectothermy And Guitars

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I know shit about actual herpetology and pretty much everything comes from Google, I apologize if anything's wrong.

It was a cold winter morning when Will Solace was rushing through the busy ice-glazed streets of New York to the vintage looking antiquarian around the corner. He stepped through the door, leaving traces of snow behind him. 

He looked around the small shop which was empty except two customers somewhere in the back and a tired looking cashier behind the counter. Will walked up to him and gave him his famous warm smile.

"Hello, I'd like to ask you something, if you have a minute," the cashier who was around his age looked up with a bored expression and raised an eyebrow.

"How can I help you, sir ?"

"I found this book when I was visiting my parents back in California. It seems quite unusual, it's probably an encyclopedia or something, there are some animal pictures, I was wondering if it had any value," Will handed the old almost falling apart book to the cashier who eyed it with a puzzled expression. He set the book on the table, rather roughly for Will's taste, and flipped through its yellow worn-out pages. He "examined" the book lazily and did not seem to get any smarter.

Just when Will was starting to think that this trip was a waste of time and he might as well go back to his apartment, one of the customers he previously saw in the back of the shop, a tall dark-haired man appeared behind him with a few books in his hands, waiting for the cashier to finish with Will.

He was eyeing the book with interest.

"You know I gotta get to work, but thank you very much for your he-"

"Wait a second, is that what I think it is ?" the man behind him asked with a hint of excitement in his deep voice.

The cashier looked at him and nudged the book in his direction. The stranger took the book delicately in his long, thin fingers and closed it to look at the cover.   
Then he opened it again, probably looking for the publication date.

"Holy shit."

"What ?" the stranger was now smiling from ear to ear.

"Where did you find this treasure ?"

"Uhm, in my parents' attic, why ?" The guy picked up the book and smelled it.

"I believe you, it smells like the attic. That and knowledge."

"Excuse me, but what's going on ? Are you some kind of book expert or...?"

"Well, I wouldn't call myself an expert, maybe an enthusiast. This book is the first publication of Gundlach's 1880 Contribucion a la Erpetologia Cubana !" the man had sparkles in his almost-black deep brown eyes and looked at both Will and the clerk as if the name he just mentioned should ring a bell or something, but both of them had the same questioning look on their faces.

"Wow ?" tried Will.

"This book is of pretty decent value, I'll give you, let's say...80 bucks for it ?"

That was much more than Will thought he could get for it anyway and the handsome man in front of him - though he was trying to stay nonchalant - was obviously very thrilled about it.

"Deal," Will smiled at him and gestured for him to step further back into the shop, away from the cashier's ears.

"Do you have cash on you ?"

"Oh yeah, I do. In fact, I somehow have just enough cash for your book, these books, and since you're cute two coffees while we're at it," Will involuntarily smiled and felt his face heat up. Also he couldn't help, but be deeply impressed by the stranger's worryingly accurate gaydar.

"I'm down. I don't actually have to go to work, that was just an excuse to get out of here."

"I figured," the stranger smiled once again. Will liked his smile, he had very sharp canine teeth.

"You seem to be good at reading people."

"I minored in psychology," he smirked and walked up to the counter to pay for the rest of his books. Together they walked out of the door, into the cold and crispy air, the man leading the way to the closest coffee shop.

"So I'm guessing you majored in English ?" Will asked him when they were about to cross the road.

"Biology, actually."

"That was my second guess," they crossed the street and entered the not so crowded Starbucks and took a seat in a booth next to the window, so they had a good view of pedestrians walking around in cocoons of winter clothes to shield them from the harsh January wind.

"So what do you do for a living ?" Will asked when he took off his scarf.

"Don't you wanna start by asking my name ?" the man chuckled. He looked even cuter now, with ruffled damp hair and red cheeks. He probably had a cold, since his nose was a little red and sore-looking too.

"Okay then, what's your name ?"

"Nico. Nico di Angelo. Dr. Nico di Angelo. I probably should have stopped at Nico," it was now Will's turn to laugh. When he said his name he had a noticeable accent.

"Nice to meet you, Dr. di Angelo. I'm Will. Will Solace. Dr. Will Solace."

"Have you heard the one about two doctors that walk into a bar ?"

"No."

"Me neither."

Their conversation was interrupted by a young barista that asked them if they're ready to order.

"I would like a...double cappuccino with cinnamon and a chocolate chip cookie, please."

"Raspberry tea, please," the barista nodded and walked away while Nico raised a judgmental eyebrow.

"Who the hell drinks tea at a coffee shop ?"

"Who the hell reads paper books anymore ?"

"Fair enough. So what is your PhD. in ?"

"Pediatrics. Yours ? I'm guessing forensics ?"

"Why do so many people think that ?"

"I don't know.. You look like the tough, cold and distant detective type."

"You look like the California-born, surfing teacher type."

"Thanks for the observation. So what is it in ?"

"Herpetology," it took Will some time to fish in his mind for that term.

"That is...reptiles ?" Will asked.

"And amphibians," Nico smiled.

"That fits you too. Tell me about it, why herpetology ?" Will continued, suddenly intrigued.

"When I was little, my Dad took us on a family trip to a zoo. I refused to leave the room with all the snakes and cried because Dad wouldn't let me buy one. I just find them absolutely fascinating. It's one of those things that never get old for me, you know, like staring into a crackling fire or watching my Stepmom decorate cakes."

"When was the first time you held a snake ?" Nico was this close to making a shitty dick joke.

"I was twelve. It was Bring Your Father To School Day and one of my classmate's father was a vet, so he brought a few of his pets to show us. It was a Red-Tail Boa. To this day I remember that first feeling of when that little creature twisted itself around my hand and I felt its muscles move and its faint heartbeat and the scales against my skin. It was life changing," Nico used his hands a lot when he spoke. 

Will couldn't help but think it was it was kinda cute. 

"Weren't you scared ?"

"Nah, I was too excited to be scared. What about you ? How did you get to pediatrics ?"

"Well, I always knew I wanted to be a doctor, I just didn't know what kind of doctor. When I was fifteen, my best friend started dating the girl that I was in love with for a very long time even though he knew about it. So I started volunteering in a Kid's Center to get my mind off of it and I found out that I absolutely adore children. They're the realest people on earth."

"I agree. My older sister has a six year old. There's nothing she wouldn't say to my face. She's my favorite family member," Will laughed.

"Where are you from, by the way ? Your name sounds foreign, plus you have a bit of an accent."

"Italy. We moved to America when I was 11. And yes, I've worked a lot on it, but it's still audible sometimes." AND he's Italian.

"No, don't get me wrong, your English is perfect, it was mostly your name."

"It's okay and thanks. It's really thick in words like - ugh I literally can't even say it. The opposite of singular."

"Plural ?" Nico shuddered. He had a very thin tall frame and an architectural (he probably hated that word too) facial bone structure. He didn't looked like someone who eats a lot.

"I always say multiple. I avoid that word like holy water."

"I used to hate the word extraterrestrial until my sister made me say it 30 times in a row. It still makes me gag to this day," Nico laughed and took a gulp of his drink that the barista just brought to out table.

"You know if you'd like to hold some snakes and see a fuckton of other weird animals you can come to my place sometimes," Nico looked at Will expectantly, from underneath his thick arched eyebrows.

"Isn't it first a coffee, then a movie, then a dinner, THEN inviting me to your apartment ?"

"I don't know, did all of your exes own a hedgehog ?"

"Are you kidding me, a hedgehog ? When can I stop by ?"

"How about you give me your number first ?"

**Author's Note:**

> please let me know what you think !


End file.
